Carte blanche to a vinoholic
THE GRAPE ESCAPE BECKONED THIS PRETTY LASS, AND BEFORE SHE KNEW IT, SHE WAS PART OF A JOURNEY INTO WINES AND A LEADING SOMMELIER
She was served her first sip at the age of 15 by her dad and though it was just a sip, she didn’t know then that she would be hooked on to its crisp, balanced, medium-bodied and mellow flavours. The tall and dusky wine sommelier, Saanjna Subiah owes it all to her dad for being in the wine industry, and for good reason. A trained sommelier from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) in London, she loved her first sip so much that she made up her mind to learn more about wines in her teens.
Training people across the globe, she is imparting her grape insight while also learning about whisky now.
“Since I was below the legal drinking age, I had only a sip, but when questioned by my dad on the flavours, I could explain the right ingredients, just by smelling the white wine. I tried my hand at advertising with Lintas after school, but my passion kept calling and I gave in. I was fortu- nate to have the full support of my parents who pursued me to take a formal training at WSET in London. Three years ago when I did the course, not many girls from India thought of it. But my parents were not so conventional and didn’t just agree to it, but also gave me the initial push towards going there and getting trained. I loved my stay in London, attending the wine tastings, wine tours, reading about wines, their terroir, climate, region, grape varietals and everything around it,” states Saanjna.
Recalling an interesting incident, she says, “On the very first day of my class in London, there was a wine tasting session and there were students from the UK and the US in the class who could figure out all the fruits and flavours in the wine, but I felt clueless as some of those fruit names were very new to me. So after the class, I went to the fruit market and bought every possible fruit I could lay my hands on and tasted and smelled them all. Over time, I gained a lot of practical knowledge and it started getting so exciting. I also went for a trip to Bordeaux in France for the wine expo. Apart from wine tours, I also spent time exploring the whole of Europe, from Italy to Greece and other places and tasted a lot wines from each region, making tasting notes on my phone.”
She returned to Bengaluru and worked with the USL group’s wine division for a while and also continued to train food and beverage staff in hotels. “While I continued to study and hone my knowledge, I joined USL’s wine division and started consultancy with Vinoholic. As part of wine consultancy I used to advise chocolate and wine makers on chocolate and wine pairing. After that I moved to Sri Lanka for a while.”
About continuing her pursuit for knowledge in wines, she says, “I will continue at WSET for a diploma in wines as there’s so much to imbibe on this subject. I’m also doing a bit of whiskey appreciation. There’s so much bonhomie at home as my dad loves his single malts and calls friends over to uncork vintage labels. He’s also done trips to Scotland to know more on single malts, purely out of passion as that isn’t his area of work.”
But it’s not only wine that maketh this woman. She likes to engage herself and has varied other interests. “I have learnt to play the piano and love doing it. I also like to play the tuba. I’ve also learnt Western classical and Hindustani classical music for a while. We entertain a lot on Sundays.”
While I continued to study and hone my knowledge, I joined USL’s wine division and started consultancy
I will continue at WSET for a diploma in wines as there’s so much to imbibe on this subject. I’m also doing a bit of whiskey appreciation